JLF Triangle Blog

Food Stamp Rolls Grow As Unemployment Declines?

The Weekly Standard posts a fascinating exchange on C-SPAN between the host and Rep. Rosa DeLauro about growth in the food stamp program — now known as SNAP. Here is the video, and here is the data that should cause every taxpayer to wonder what’s going on, as detailed by the C-SPAN host. When you watch the video, pay attention to the charts, which really tell the story.

HOST: “Well let me ask you about that rise in folks who are using it. This is from Bloomberg Government. Food stamp rolls are expanding even as the unemployment level decreases. This is showing a decrease in unemployment levels from 2009 to 2011 and yet the number of people on food stamps is continuing to rise. Some folks are concerned that it has become too easy for folks to get access to food stamps.”

 

A reasonable person can conclude that the official national unemployment figures do not reflect the real level of unemployment, as Rep. DeLauro discusses in her response to the host, or the very real hardships many Americans are experiencing as a result of not being able to find full time employment. Economic policies have consequences, and in this data, the real consequences are glaring.

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